Officials want to shorten the odds

HALIFAX —Selectmen received assurances from local legislators their concerns regarding a proposed casino in Middleboro would not go unheard.

The casino would be located on over 200 acres of land off Route 44.

Representative Tom Calter, D-Kingston, and Tom Brophy, an aide to Senator Robert Creedon, D-Brockton, came to Tuesday night’s meeting promising to seek mitigation for the impact of the casino on the region from the Mashpee Wampanoags, before granting the Class 3 gaming license required to build a full-scale casino. Once approved, the tribe would negotiate with the Governor on a compact establishing the regulations for the facility, Brophy said.

Matthew Nadler

HALIFAX —Selectmen received assurances from local legislators their concerns regarding a proposed casino in Middleboro would not go unheard.

The casino would be located on over 200 acres of land off Route 44.

Representative Tom Calter, D-Kingston, and Tom Brophy, an aide to Senator Robert Creedon, D-Brockton, came to Tuesday night’s meeting promising to seek mitigation for the impact of the casino on the region from the Mashpee Wampanoags, before granting the Class 3 gaming license required to build a full-scale casino. Once approved, the tribe would negotiate with the Governor on a compact establishing the regulations for the facility, Brophy said.

Calter, in whose district the casino would be located, told the board he met with Wampanoag leaders and told them they needed to “think regionally” when considering the impact of the project. Local selectmen, he told them, were the last word on determining the effect of the project on their towns.

Revenue from casinos in Connecticut goes directly to the state, Selectman Peg Fitzgerald said, while the host communities have to absorb the costs of the facilities, including housing the thousands of low-wage workers needed. “It hurts the culture of the town,” she said. Selectmen Chairman Troy Garron saw greater stress on public safety services and the potential for additional 40B affordable housing projects in response to the new residents. Garron also foresaw the construction of additional hotels and other entertainment facilities, thus adding to the stress on the local infrastructure. Any mitigation must include the social and environmental costs, Calter said.

A report is expected from the Governor’s office at the end of August regarding the costs and benefits of permitting casino gambling in the state. Calter said he would read that before making a decision on approving the license, but, he said, he would never support the project if the cost to the region of hosting the project weren’t taken into account.

The possible increase in traffic, from cars getting to the new facility, was a major concern for Selectman John Bruno. “I don’t want Halifax to become a big highway” he said, fearing the possibility of a road, such as the already often-congested Route 106, being turned into a multi-lane highway cutting the town in two. He called that scenario “devastating” to Halifax. Executive Director of the Old Colony Planning Council Pat Ciaramella, told selectmen he had been trying to talk with the Mashpee Wampanoags regarding traffic and economic development issues.

Water was on the mind of Garron, who said the proposed location of the casino sits on a large portion of the Plymouth-Carver aquifer. Garron questioned the potential impact of the casino upon area wetlands. According to Brophy, if the Mashpee Wampanoags are granted permission to build the casino in Middleboro, it would become sovereign tribal land, and not be subject to state or federal wetland regulations.

The town of Middleboro has been in the process of negotiating a deal with the Mashpee Wampanoags regarding the impact of the casino on the town. The tribe is offering $7 million annually over the next 10 years in exchange for the town’s support. The proposal would also cover the costs of road and infrastructure improvements. Any agreement would require the approval of Town Meeting.

So far, a letter from the Halifax Board of Selectmen to their Middleboro counterparts has gone unanswered. “Middleboro has not invited me to the table either,” Calter said.